I don't own an Android so I'm not familiar with it's technical limitations but isn't it possible to just buy a $300 subsidized device, unlock the phone yourself and load up a new boot rom and install your own flavor of Android?

I don't own an Android so I'm not familiar with it's technical limitations but isn't it possible to just buy a $300 subsidized device, unlock the phone yourself and load up a new boot rom and install your own flavor of Android?

Save $350 and you get the same experience. No?

Sometimes. This is actually great news (even if you don't buy this version) because it means that there will be vanilla android "from the manufacturer" roms available for these phones. You should be able to root/unlock and slap one of those onto a subsidized device and get the same experience.

Of course, taking one of these to T-mobile gives you additional savings since you don't pay the subsidy tax.

I don't own an Android so I'm not familiar with it's technical limitations but isn't it possible to just buy a $300 subsidized device, unlock the phone yourself and load up a new boot rom and install your own flavor of Android?

Save $350 and you get the same experience. No?

Assuming you can unlock the phone without bricking it, and some enterprising hacker chooses to develop a ROM you like, and that the ROM in question works, and that it can be updated when Google releases a new version of the operating system.

I don't own an Android so I'm not familiar with it's technical limitations but isn't it possible to just buy a $300 subsidized device, unlock the phone yourself and load up a new boot rom and install your own flavor of Android?

Save $350 and you get the same experience. No?

No one's done it yet, but..probably?

The stock One and S4 have a huge partition set aside for their own ROM, and some users may want to re-partition the internal memory so more is accessible to the user, especially in the case of the One, where it's a fixed storage device. But being that the hardware is identical, it shouldn't take long.

I don't own an Android so I'm not familiar with it's technical limitations but isn't it possible to just buy a $300 subsidized device, unlock the phone yourself and load up a new boot rom and install your own flavor of Android?

Save $350 and you get the same experience. No?

Assuming you can unlock the phone without bricking it, and some enterprising hacker chooses to develop a ROM you like, and that the ROM in question works, and that it can be updated when Google releases a new version of the operating system.

I'm guessing he means an actual S4 or HTC One. The only problem then would be if the ROM image isn't compatible.

If these unsubsidized phones have identical hardware to the carrier versions then it's likely the ROMs will be interchangeable and he won't need to go to a third party for his delicious unskinned jellybean.

I don't own an Android so I'm not familiar with it's technical limitations but isn't it possible to just buy a $300 subsidized device, unlock the phone yourself and load up a new boot rom and install your own flavor of Android?

Save $350 and you get the same experience. No?

Assuming you can unlock the phone without bricking it, and some enterprising hacker chooses to develop a ROM you like, and that the ROM in question works, and that it can be updated when Google releases a new version of the operating system.

I'm guessing he means an actual S4 or HTC One. The only problem then would be if the ROM image isn't compatible.

If these unsubsidized phones have identical hardware to the carrier versions then it's likely the ROMs will be interchangeable and he won't need to go to a third party for his delicious unskinned jellybean.

Yes I'm referring only to those two phones as we are currently debating which one to get and whether to bother with subsidized or not. We have no plans to change carriers (Verizon) because they have amazing coverage in Boston. So we will be paying let's say $80 per line whether it's subsidized or not. We do plan to use one of the phones for dev purposes however, if that makes a difference.

I just always perceived the OS whether it's something like Windows, Mac, iOS or Android is that it's interchangeable with devices just like i can install Windows on most machines or iOS on most iDevices. So if I have JellyBean I should be able to install it on any device that officially supports JellyBean.

I don't own an Android so I'm not familiar with it's technical limitations but isn't it possible to just buy a $300 subsidized device, unlock the phone yourself and load up a new boot rom and install your own flavor of Android?

Save $350 and you get the same experience. No?

Assuming you can unlock the phone without bricking it, and some enterprising hacker chooses to develop a ROM you like, and that the ROM in question works, and that it can be updated when Google releases a new version of the operating system.

I'm guessing he means an actual S4 or HTC One. The only problem then would be if the ROM image isn't compatible.

If these unsubsidized phones have identical hardware to the carrier versions then it's likely the ROMs will be interchangeable and he won't need to go to a third party for his delicious unskinned jellybean.

Yes I'm referring only to those two phones as we are currently debating which one to get and whether to bother with subsidized or not. We have no plans to change carriers (Verizon) because they have amazing coverage in Boston.

I just always perceived the OS whether it's something like Windows, Mac, iOS or Android is that it's interchangeable with devices just like i can install Windows on most machines or iOS on most iDevices. So if I have JellyBean I should be able to install it on any device that officially supports JellyBean.

As others have said it is not quite as simple as installing windows 7 on a computer that came with windows vista. You will have to ensure that the device is rooted/unlocked prior to doing the new install and then you will have to find a version of the OS that will work on your phone.

I don't own an Android so I'm not familiar with it's technical limitations but isn't it possible to just buy a $300 subsidized device, unlock the phone yourself and load up a new boot rom and install your own flavor of Android?

Save $350 and you get the same experience. No?

I am hoping to do exactly this. Had to pick up a new phone unexpectedly after accidentally melting my Galaxy Nexus with a damaged USB cable. Took the opportunity to switch to T-Mobile as well.

The only downside is among all the extra junk that Samsung has added, there are a few genuinely useful features, like support for a fancy touchscreen digitizer that can detect your finger without physical contact. You can put it in "high sensitivity mode" or something and this enables use of the touch screen while wearing gloves. I doubt the de-samsung-ized ROM will include support for stuff like this.

Has there been any firm commitment by google and htc/Samsung on providing timely future updates (by that I mean being on the list of supported devices when google pushes a new API version) ? I picture the google store as providing reference devices for developers so they can always have the latest API version.

This program might simply be about providing consistent UI across android devices, but it would be useful to know one way or the other.

Edit: product page came up in store.. It does say the device will automatically receive latest versions.. So good for developers.

If you do the math, you end up paying much more for a "subsidized" device.

Depends on the choice of carrier.

AT&T doesn't have an unsubsidized price. You're paying the phone subsidy there whether you get a phone or don't.

Sorry wasn't clear, I meant that going with AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint + "subsidized" device is often many hundreds if not thousands of dollars more expensive than buying an unsubsidized device and going with a prepaid or MVNO.

I envy the rest of the world where you can buy a phone unadorned with carrier branding and choose from a variety of reasonable priced competitors.

I'm a customer that has plans that don't include subsidized devices, so the Play Store version is the same price or close to the carrier's price for me.

The google S4 is about $100 more than the S4 from T-Mobile they don't subsidize.

I think that you are referring to the price of the S4 for the Simple Choice plans. The price for people on the $30 100 minute/unlimited text/unlimited data plan is higher than the price for Simple Choice customers. I haven't looked at the S4 price for me on T-Mobile because I already had it from somewhere else.

Tmobile alertIf you plan on using either of these devices on Tmobile (US) - you won't get optimum data coverage.

Most of the 3G (HSPA, Tmo calls it 4G, whatever) uses the AWS (1700Mhz) band. Neither of these devices have support for this band. Some areas has 1900Mhz towers, but it's a very limited area.

Tmo's LTE network will use 1700/AWS(upload)/2100(download)Mhz. Both have AWS, but neither have 2100LTE.

Unless you can live with these limitations, which I think are pretty significant, you should either get the Nexus 4 if you need the google experience, or get Tmo's version of these phone's respective hardware and root/ROM.

Tmobile alertIf you plan on using either of these devices on Tmobile (US) - you won't get optimum data coverage.

Most of the 3G (HSPA, Tmo calls it 4G, whatever) uses the AWS (1700Mhz) band. Neither of these devices have support for this band. Some areas has 1900Mhz towers, but it's a very limited area.

Tmo's LTE network will use 1700/AWS(upload)/2100(download)Mhz. Both have AWS, but neither have 2100LTE.

Unless you can live with these limitations, which I think are pretty significant, you should either get the Nexus 4 if you need the google experience, or get Tmo's version of these phone's respective hardware and root/ROM.

Do you have source for this? I recall reading that the HTC One had this issue but did not read anything about the S4

I don't own an Android so I'm not familiar with it's technical limitations but isn't it possible to just buy a $300 subsidized device, unlock the phone yourself and load up a new boot rom and install your own flavor of Android?

Save $350 and you get the same experience. No?

It really depends, if the mod scene have unlocked the bootloader of the carrier phones then yes (but you have to have a contract for 2 years) if not, no.

Yes I'm referring only to those two phones as we are currently debating which one to get and whether to bother with subsidized or not. We have no plans to change carriers (Verizon) because they have amazing coverage in Boston. So we will be paying let's say $80 per line whether it's subsidized or not. We do plan to use one of the phones for dev purposes however, if that makes a difference.

I just always perceived the OS whether it's something like Windows, Mac, iOS or Android is that it's interchangeable with devices just like i can install Windows on most machines or iOS on most iDevices. So if I have JellyBean I should be able to install it on any device that officially supports JellyBean.

You’re not saying you intend to use one of these phones on Verizon, right?

My understanding of OS’s is that in the phone world, they’re more customized to the hardware. Every phone runs “its own version” of Android 4.1.2 or iOS – that’s why it takes so long. There are greater optimization demands in phones, with weaker hardware, smaller storage, and high user expectations. Some phones are bottlenecked in terms of graphics, others in terms of RAM… hence the customization, to get the most out of each package. That’s also how features get left out depending on the hardware you’re using.

I don't own an Android so I'm not familiar with it's technical limitations but isn't it possible to just buy a $300 subsidized device, unlock the phone yourself and load up a new boot rom and install your own flavor of Android?

Save $350 and you get the same experience. No?

Third Party ROMS aren't always 100% stable, and some people don't feel comfortable flashing a device.

You also don't save $350 - you're still paying for it through your contract.

Why won't Google sell me devices I can use on Verizon? Don't they know grandfathered in unlimited data-planners are on the prowl for unlocked phones to avoid losing their old data plans?

I wanted to hold off on seeing what the next Nexus handset will be, and if it has a slide-out keyboard so I can take advantage of the delicious internal hardware but I might just go ahead and buy a Galaxy S4 Developer edition from Verizon and get that slide-out bluetooth keyboard add-on.

Okay, so here's the plan.I'm planning to get the T-Mobile version of the S4, assuming it is the same hardware as the Nexus edition.

It's a bit cheaper (just a bit and unsubsidized) and it will get me the better camera software, and more battery life and processing power due to the optimizations.

and I can switch easily between the stock and touchwiz ROM once they stop supporting it or I get tired of it.

Yeah, I'm not sure that the stock S4 is really worth it. It's going to be missing the camera, multi-window, finger-hover thing and ir remote control, right? Aren't those most of the best features of the S4? The base specs aren't that much better than competitors, and the build quality is still plastic.

Not sure if anyone knows but if I preorder will I not be charged till after the phone ships?

It says you won't be charged until it ships. My amex is set up to alert me if there's a card-not-present transaction. I was alerted. That's either annoying or awesome.

They posted to my card too (got a call from my bank's fraud department) but it may not have been an actual charge as it was a preauthorization/hold. Similar to how gas stations work, they aren't taking out the money, they are just asking the bank to mark it as 'held' till the actual transaction goes through.